Handicapped-accessibility improvements planned at Fall River polling site

Improvements are being planned at a city polling location after a resident complained it wasn’t handicapped-accessible.

Changes at the Candeias-Niagara Fire Station will include the construction of a temporary ramp, changing hardware on doors, removing a lip to the doorway at the building’s entrance and the creation of temporary parking spots on election days.

Improvements are being planned at a city polling location after a resident complained it wasn’t handicapped-accessible.

Changes at the Candeias-Niagara Fire Station will include the construction of a temporary ramp, changing hardware on doors, removing a lip to the doorway at the building’s entrance and the creation of temporary parking spots on election days.

A letter from Board of Elections Commissioners Chairwoman Elizabeth Camara to the City Council indicates that she has had conversations with Community Maintenance Director Kenneth Pacheco about the changes.

“Mr. Pacheco has informed me that he will do what is necessary to keep the fire station as a polling location and it will be ready to use for the upcoming special state primary being held on April 30,” Camara wrote.

The primary is being held as part of the process to fill the seat vacated by former Sen. John Kerry. The final election is slated for June 25.

Camara said the changes, with the exception of updating the door handles, will be temporary fixes that are put into place on election days.

The changes are being made following a complaint made by C.J. Ferry, a former candidate for City Council, School Committee and state representative.

That complaint resulted in a Jan. 25 survey of the property by a representative of the secretary of state’s office, which was also attended by Camara, City Councilor Michael Miozza and William Fontaine from the city’s Commission on Disabilities.

Ferry said Wednesday that he was pleased to learn that the station will be updated to remain a polling location.

“As long as the station is accessible, I have no problem with it remaining as a polling location,” Ferry said. “It’s great that they’ll still be able to use the same location by making some minor modifications, but I don’t want those modifications to have any effects on the fire station. I’m very happy to see they’re going to do that.”

The Candeias-Niagara Fire Station is used as a polling site for two precincts, serving voters residing in Ward 5 Precinct A and Ward 2 Precinct C.

Camara said Ferry’s complaint was the first she is aware of in regards to the fire station, but said she took notice of the lip that existed entering the fire station bay. That entrance had been used as the handicapped entrance during elections. Camara said keeping the bays closed with the new handicapped-accessible door in place will make for a better polling site because it won’t expose voters to cold weather.

“I think everything turned out OK,” Camara said. “I’m glad it did, because trying to fit two precincts somewhere else would have been difficult.”